Financial Transparency

The City of Victoria values financial transparency and accountability. Providing open and transparent financial information to our citizens is very important to being a customer service-friendly organization.

The information and documents contained on this page supports our goals of transparent government, good stewardship and open communication.

Sales Tax Receipt Analysis

The Finance Department prepares a monthly analysis of the Sales Tax Rebate received from the State Comptroller's office. In addition to the current fiscal year, there’s also historical data presented.

Annual Budget Report

The City of Victoria's fiscal year is from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. Prior to each fiscal year, the City Council approves an operating budget that projects the collection of revenue and guides spending for the coming year.

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the City of Victoria provides the City Council, city staff, our citizens, bondholders and other interested parties with detailed information concerning the financial condition and activities of the city.

Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT FUNDS)

The City of Victoria collects a Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT Funds) from hotels, bed & breakfasts, and other lodging facilities. Under state law, revenue from the municipal HOT tax may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry.

Investment Policy

This policy is intended to provide guidelines for the prudent investment of the city's cash balances, and outline the policies to assist maximizing the efficiency of the city's cash management system while meeting the daily cash flow demands of the city.

Quarterly Reports

Debt Service

The City of Victoria recognizes the primary purpose of capital improvements is to support provision of services to its residents. The City limits long-term debt to only those capital projects that cannot be financed from current revenues. In addition, the City does not use long-term debt to finance recurring maintenance and operating costs and issue debt longer than the estimated useful life of the capital project.

There are various types of debt instruments available to the City of Victoria (City) to finance large capital improvement programs; however, the City mainly uses the following debt instruments for long-term financing:

Certificate of Obligation (C.O.) – Legal debt instruments used to finance capital improvement projects. Certificates of Obligation are backed by the full faith and credit of the government entity and are fully payable from a property tax levy. Certificates of Obligation differ from general obligation debt in that they are approved by the City council and are not voter approved

General Obligation Bonds (G.O.) – Bonds that finance a variety of public projects such as streets, buildings, and capital improvement. They are backed by the full faith and credit of the City and are voter approved.

Revenue Bonds - Bonds whose principal and interest are payable exclusively from user fees (i.e. revenue generated by the water and wastewater system.

The City’s debt management policy and Post Bond Issuance Compliance Policy can be found in the Financial and Budgetary Policy section of the annual budget.

Government Accounting Standards Board

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is currently the source of generally accepted accounting principles (standards of accounting framework) used by state and local governments in the United States of America. The mission of GASB is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports.

House Bill 1378

There are various types of debt instruments available to the City of Victoria (City) to finance debt; however, the City mainly uses the following debt instruments for debt financing:

Certificate of Obligation (C.O.) - Legal debt instruments used to finance capital improvement projects. Certificates of Obligation are backed by the full faith and credit of the government entity and are fully payable from a property tax levy. Certificate of Obligation differ from general obligation debt in that they are approved by the City council.

General Obligation Bonds (G.O.) - Legal debt instruments used to finance a variety of public projects such as streets, buildings and capital improvement. General Obligations are backed by the full faith and credit of the City and are a voter approved tax levy.

Revenue Bonds - Legal debt instruments used to finance water and wastewater works. Revenue Bonds principal and interest are payable exclusively from user fees (i.e. revenue generated by the water and wastewater system).